Freedom
by Ananaka
Summary: An AU story focusing on Hichigo, otherwise known as Shirosaki, Dark Ichigo, or Hollow Ichigo, and Ichigo as twin brothers. In later chapter it will include incest between the two, slash, and dark themes. Pairing: HichigoxIchigo
1. Chapter 1

A lot of credit goes to my beta, Cassandra, for helping me out with sentence structure and just all around grammar (from the Hichigo/Shirosaki/Anti-Ichigo Livejournal community, go there). I hope you enjoy it!

The room was a crisp, clean white, the only variation being the black of the bed straps and the silver of the various pieces of equipment. The orange-haired boy looked to his right, watching the sunlight from the barred plexiglass window as it shone through and glinted off of the plastic tray sitting on top of his bedside table. He didn't see the sunlight in his room often, due to the large buildings surrounding the Institute; only when it was midday and the sun was high in the sky could he see anything. The room itself was rather sad, completely devoid of warmth or personality–it had been his home for over eight years.

The nurses fluttered around the room, gathering his things. Brown eyes watched from behind crossed arms as two incredibly cheery women worked their way around the room and gathered the very few things that he had been able to call his possessions over the years. There weren't many things that he actually owned, after all, in a mental institution there are very few things that it was ok for patients to have. There was a teddy bear that he had ever since he could remember. It hardly meant much to him though; he hadn't held it for years and looking at it occasionally made him angry. He also had a few other knick-knacks that Isshin had given him over the years for birthdays or other such trivial things. Hichigo glared at the chipper women as they finished packing his items into a small 'complimentary' black duffle bag.

"Maa, Hichigo-san, are you very excited to see your family? You get to go live with them! Isn't that exciting Hichigo-san?" The young brunette nurse bent over near him, smiling while talking, the way one would speak to a five-year-old child.

He turned his head away from the exuberant woman, refusing to look her in the eye. It

simply wasn't worth the effort.

"Whatever," he responded, pulling at the white tank top that the Institute had given him to wear home. His typical wardrobe consisted of a hospital shirt that tied in the back or a tank top with a pair of light blue hospital pants–today was no different.

Watching the door wearily, he waited for the man he had once known as 'father' to arrive. He'd stopped calling Isshin his father at some point after his tenth birthday; Hichigo had decided that he simply didn't deserve the title. After all, he usually only saw the man around his birthday, due to the money that it cost to make his way to the Fujikawa Institute so far away from his home in Karakura. Usually he visited a few days before or after his birthday; couldn't have precious Ichigo missing out on his_ father's _love on their actual birthday. Rolling his eyes slightly at the memories, he pushed his chin-length orange hair away from his face.

"Ohh Hichigo!! Daddy's here!!" a voice sang in an obnoxiously high tone from the hallway outside of his room (which was amazing due to the extraordinarily thick, almost completely soundproof walls that all of the rooms in the Institute had). It was followed by several of the nurses voices complaining about noise and one loud shriek, most probably from another patient in fear of the loud man.

"Hichigo!!" Hichigo's eye twitched slightly as the noise pierced through his thoughts.

_It figures...he won't even give me a moment of peace before barging in here_, Hichigo thought to himself as he straightened out his legs from their position near his chest. Time to go, it seemed.

"Hichigo!" The door burst open as the eccentric middle-aged man waltzed through. As expected, several nurses were surrounding him, hushing him and trying to hold him still to refine his manner.

"Oh, you finally showed up, hm?" the boy asked, removing himself from the pristine hospital bed and making his way over to the man. Moving revealed that his body was thin in a sickly way from being inside most of the time and never doing much of anything; even his skin had a pale tint of grey to it from the lack of direct sunlight.

"Ah, yes!! And guess what, I have surprise in the car for you!!" he called as he quickly grabbed the small black bag from Hichigo's former bed.

"Che, I can hardly wait," the orange-haired boy responded in a sarcastic tone, following his 'father' outside to his so-called freedom. He wasn't optimistic about this turn-around of events.

Ichigo sat in the back seat of the taxi, tapping his leg nervously with his hands. Why the hell had his father dragged him out here anyway? Oh, his brother. The one that hated him and had been in a psycho place for at least half of his life. He could already tell nothing could possibly turn out well. There was just no getting around it, but only Ichigo himself seemed to see the flaws.

If his father owned a car it wouldn't be nearly as awkward for the little 'family reunion', however. Ichigo didn't think a fat cabby dripping a hotdog down his shirt that he had pulled from his side-door pocket was a very welcoming first sight. It would be awkward enough as it was without any outside help. He hadn't seen his twin brother in years, and Hichigo probably didn't want to see him anyway.

_We don't even like each other_, he thought irritably as he watched out the window, waiting for his father to return with his brother. Ichigo's eyebrows furrowed into a deeper frown than before as he thought about Isshin and Hichigo.

Looking up at the foreboding building, he felt a slight chill go down his spine. The Fujikawa Institute for the Mentally Handicapped. It was an awful name, he thought, after all, Hichigo wasn't so much 'mentally handicapped' as he was 'explosively violent.' The name didn't seem to fit; he supposed, though, that his brother's problem could sort of could be considered a mental handicap, and left it at that.

Brown eyes glanced in one direction and then the other. Isshin hadn't been thrown out on his face yet, so it seemed to be going well at least. Looking forward he noted that the cab-driver had finished his hotdog and was currently wiping his mouth on the sleeve of his green jacket. The orange-haired boy winced in disgust at the sight. Slightly sick from the view in front of him, Ichigo diverted his eyes back to the window, watching the clear front doors of the Institute for any movement.

After another moment or so – after what had seemed like an eternity – he watched as the doors opened slightly. Breath hitching in his throat, he strained to see the figures behind the doors, beyond the bright glare of the sun. Out strolled his too-excited father carrying a small black bag and what seemed to be a large manila file, and what seemed to be...his brother. His eyes widened as he took in the sight.

The two were walking toward the yellow vehicle, but Ichigo couldn't look away from Hichigo–it was almost like looking into a distorted mirror. They were basically still the same, it seemed. Their faces still looked almost identical, with the same brown eyes placed in the same frown, and lips slightly pursed in annoyance. He wondered to himself if he looked exactly like that, exactly the same.

Orange hair almost the same shades, although Ichigo's was slightly bleached near the top from spending time in the sun, which it seemed Hichigo had neglected to do altogether. His skin was a sickly pale with almost grey colored edges, and he looked thin and underweight. The white hospital outfit wasn't doing much to cover the fact that he was scrawny and possessed little-to-no muscle. Ichigo winced slightly at the boy before him, before running his hand through orange spikes and telling himself not to worry.

Breathing out one final breath of nervousness, he decided that everything would be fine. They wouldn't have let him out of that place if he weren't better, right? Of course, they were a well known clinic with intelligent men and women working there; no way they would let someone leave that wasn't ready.

Ichigo looked away as his father grabbed Hichigo's arm, which was roughly pulled away, and started to wave hysterically to Ichigo–the cabby responded with a wave of his own and a crooked, yellow smile.

Looking back up he noticed that Hichigo had caught sight of him. He'd been right, the other boy didn't seem happy to see his older twin brother at all if the death glare being shot at him was any indication. Isshin seemed none-the-wiser to this and continued on toward the ugly, beaten vehicle.

"Isn't it a beautiful thing? When two brothers can see each other after having been away from each other for so long?" Isshin smiled as he tossed the little black duffle bag in the backseat on Ichigo and stepped out of the way for Hichigo to climb in. He seemed unwilling.

"Hello." Ichigo acknowledged him, nodding slightly in Hichigo's direction. He was returned a deeper glare.

"Hello," Hichigo finally responded, taking in what he was seeing. Had this been the 'surprise' good ol' dad had been talking about? Ichigo? His eyes narrowed slightly as he took the other boy in.

Ichigo looked fine. Perfectly healthy and if not for the crease in his forehead, he would probably be happy, too. He seemed to have a nice build and a good complexion. Hichigo hated him again already. Not that he had ever stopped hating him from childhood, but it had lessened with time. However, that hate seemed to be back in full force now that he could see him again.

"C'mon Hichigo!" Isshin pushed the boys back. "Get in! We have many things to do!" He smiled as he himself leapt into the front seat of the car.

Climbing tentatively in the back seat, Hichigo avoided contact with Ichigo as much as possible. He climbed only to the rightmost seat and sat with his forehead leaning against the window.

"This is really a beautiful moment, you know." The cabby sniffed from his place in the front-seat, wiping at his eyes.

"I agree! It's so wonderful when families are reunited!" Isshin sang as he grabbed the arm of the emotional cab-driver.

"Idiot, it's not like he was lost or anything." Ichigo rolled his eyes, staying near the leftmost seat with his elbow perched near the window, allowing his head to lean on it.

Hichigo snorted softly as the words went on around him. Ichigo...he hated Ichigo. Ichigo probably had a perfect life with a dozen friends, he probably had a beautiful girlfriend and was probably popular too. He didn't look nerdy or anything; grudgingly, Hichigo admitted to himself that Ichigo looked cool. Bastard, Mr. Soccer star or something too, probably.

He didn't deserve the fame. He didn't deserve anything at all. Not when Hichigo had to endure that hell just because he was a little angry. The psychiatrists had told him that his parents had sent him there to help him. Help him? _How could being locked in a room and strapped to a bed help anyone?_ he fumed silently, irritation growing with every moment.

Ichigo deserved what Hichigo had gotten. He deserved to be locked up like a common criminal and have needles jammed in his arms whenever he got a little rowdy. He deserved to be strapped down and spoken to as if nothing was amiss. He deserved unnerving silence and loud sobs from adjoining rooms at night. He deserved to cry, and feel pain, and hurt inside. He deserved everything that Hichigo himself had gotten. And Hichigo, naturally, deserved whatever Ichigo had. It wasn't fair! They were the same, why would their parents only send him away?

Ichigo looked out the corner of his eye at Hichigo. His head was still leaning against the window, arms crossed. He didn't even appear to acknowledge Ichigo's presence. His eyes narrowed a bit at this. Finally away from a hospital and all he does is pout, Ichigo thought bitterly as he watched the other boy with a skeptical expression. Suddenly, however, his thoughts were interrupted by his father.

"Oh, you'll be so excited when you get home Hichigo!" The man turned around in his seat, smiling that happy, lopsided smile he always had.

"You'll get to see Karin and Yuzu! Your little sisters!" he yelled exuberantly, taking no notice that Hichigo hadn't even looked in his direction since the long car ride began.

Digging around in his pocket for a moment, Isshin seemed to find what he was looking for. From his right coat pocket he pulled out a rather tattered looking brown wallet. From the wallet he pulled a large collection of papers.

"Look," he grabbed a photograph from the mess, "this is Yuzu," he pointed to the small blonde, "and this is Karin!" He pointed to the tomboy with black hair.

"Aren't they just the most beautiful girls you've ever seen!?" he asked, trying to hand the picture back to Hichigo.

Tentatively turning his head, Hichigo regarded the picture with composure. Slowly he removed the picture from Isshin's large hands and looked at it himself. His sisters...he'd only seen them for a short while when he was very young and a couple of times in the Institute, they were very small then, however. Yuzu, the blonde, seemed to have their mother's face already, odd hair, but their mother's face. And Karin, he supposed, was the only one of the four children that resembled Isshin.

He glared slightly at the picture. They looked too happy, too sure of themselves. They looked between the ages of seven and ten, which was near the age that he was carted off and thrown in an asylum. How long before Karin or Yuzu get a little too angry and are shipped off to the same fate? he wondered bitterly. It was true that he didn't particularly care for the girls, as he hadn't known them at all, but the thought was still there, and the bitterness seemed to grow.

Upon returning the picture to the black-haired man, he noticed that Ichigo was glaring at him. Smirking a bit, he narrowed his eyes toward Ichigo.

"Something you don't like?" he asked, cocking his head to one side as he smiled at his twin.

Ichigo continued looking over at the boy. It seemed that he still had that cocky, no good smirk. It was insane, the way he smiled. Hichigo had always had a large smile, which was fine unless he was angry, in which case it made him look crazy. Ichigo didn't allow his face to reveal his feelings, however.

"Yeah, there is." He turned toward Hichigo a bit, as if daring him to say one more thing. He hadn't liked the way that he was looking at Karin and Yuzu's picture. It was unsettling.

Hichigo glared back, the ephemeral smile fading to be replaced with a glare. Snapping his eyes away from Ichigo, he turned back to lay his head against the warm glass and watch the expansive buildings pass by.


	2. Chapter 2

1Tentatively she fingered the picture, tilting it to be seen in the light differently to possibly avoid seeing the various water stains and tears. It was an old picture, one that would have looked nice on top of a mantle or on a shelf near the kitchen table. Of course, the Kurosaki family had neither a mantle nor a shelf near the kitchen table, but Yuzu thought it would look good if they did. Brown eyes noted that there were several pictures like that: water stained, or ripped at the edges, or even folded–some ruined with a combination of the three.

It wasn't right, of course, but their father never had known how to take care of heirlooms such as these. Pictures, precious items, keepsakes that their mother may have someday given them if she were alive; their father simply didn't know what to do to care for those items.

Sighing, she rubbed a blue checkered cloth over the picture, trying to remove as much dust and grime as possible.

_There_, she thought happily, smiling at the picture. It was an old family portrait, obviously professionally done by a real photographer, not her father jumping into the picture at the last second before the automatic camera goes off. A nice picture. Had it been taken care of, it would have been clear and a beautiful thing to set out with pride. She smiled a bit wider–there was still a bit of pride in the picture. At least Yuzu could take pride in her job as 'woman of the house' and clean it.

It really was a lovely picture. Near the left side of the picture a pretty orange-haired woman sat with rivulets of wavy curls going down her back and just over one of her shoulders. At the other end of the picture sat her father, black hair slicked back and beard trimmed, smiling for all he was worth with one arm around the arms of Masaki. In the middle of the picture were two little boys, each bearing bright orange hair and a large grin. One had Masaki's arms around him, and the other had Isshin's free hand on his shoulder. She still couldn't tell which boy was Ichigo-nii, but had a feeling it was the one in Masaki's arms.

The other boy in the picture she had never really known. Too little to remember, she supposed, but Karin didn't remember either, so it was okay. Gazing at the picture a bit more closely she tried to tell the two apart–she couldn't.

"Hichigo-niisan, which one are you?" she asked to herself, trying to pick out which one he could be. Yuzu had never known much about her other big brother, but did know that he was far away and that he was sent to a hospital because he needed help that their father couldn't give him. Her daddy was a good doctor though, so something must have been really wrong with Hichigo for her parents to send him away, she decided.

"Yuzu! What are we having for dinner!?" a voice called from the adjoining room to the kitchen.

Yuzu's small blonde head popped up, the noise breaking her away from her trance.

"Huh? Oh, I haven't decided yet, Karin!" she called back, setting the photo near the large plastic bucket from where it had come from, careful not to set it in anything or cause anymore damage to it.

Carefully she placed all of the other photographs and knick-knacks back into the box in a somewhat organized manner. She could always finish sorting out the junk from the treasures later.

"Karin! Come here, help me take this box back into Daddy's room!" she yelled from her place on the yellow tiled kitchen floor.

After waiting a few more moments, Karin entered the room with her usual annoyed expression, helping Yuzu lug the too-heavy plastic container back to their father's room to shove in his closet.

"You forgot a picture," Karin pointed out as she returned to the kitchen with Yuzu.

"Huh?" Yuzu asked, looking to where her sister's finger was pointing.

"Oh, no, I didn't." She smiled, walking over to the picture on the floor and picking it up, smiling at it one last time.

Karin cocked an eyebrow, curious at first, but then deciding that she really didn't care what Yuzu did or didn't do with the picture anyway.

"Whatever." She brushed it off, shrugging her shoulder a bit.

Turning around to leave the room, Karin added, "Oh yeah, Dad said they'd all be back around eight or nine. Something like that."

Yuzu nodded happily as Karin walked out of the room fingering the bill of her newest baseball cap.

The yellow cab pulled up near the house of the Kurosaki residence, rolling forward a bit as before the brakes would actually stop the vehicle from moving. Feeling the lurch forward and the immediate stop, Ichigo lifted his head up from his arms where he had been resting his eyes for the last hour or so. He had never been able to sleep due to the incessant noise coming from the front seat of the car, but he had been able to tune out a bit of what was said after the first couple of hours or so.

Grumbling a bit, he rubbed the tiredness out of his eyes with the palm of his hand, looking over to the Kurosaki Clinic. He could make out that only two rooms still seemed to be lit; the light streamed out of the girls' open window and he could make out a dull glow coming from behind the curtains in the kitchen.

Looking over he noticed that Hichigo had, somehow, fallen asleep in the back of the car, and was currently hunched over his lithe frame with his head buried in his arms with orange hair flying haphazardly over his neck and arms. His forehead creased as he glowered down at the body of Hichigo–he hadn't changed, he was still the same person he remembered him to be. Why would they ever let someone as unstable as that out? He supposed he'd never know.

"-and here's my phone number!" Isshin scrawled the number across a wrapper that had been lying on the floor of the cab, and upon doing so handed it over to the driver, as well as the money that was owed to him.

"Well that's great, we'll have lunch sometime!" The cabby smiled, giving Isshin a final pat on the back as he exited the vehicle.

"Oh Ichigo! Wake your brother! Let's go inside!" he yelled happily, waving back to Ichigo as he jogged up to the door.

"Che, right," Ichigo mumbled under his breath.

After looking at the body for a moment longer, he decided that he really needed to awaken the boy so he could finally go inside and get dinner as well as some much needed sleep. Nine or so hours to get to the Institute, as well as nine back was extremely tiring.

Cautiously, Ichigo poked Hichigo in the head, waiting to see if it would awaken him. It didn't work, perhaps a bit more force? A bit harder now he poked him–nothing.

"Fine, we'll do it the hard way." Ichigo said, unbuckling his seat belt and getting on his knees in the backseat of the car. He raised one hand approximately ten centimeters above Hichigo's head before bringing it down hard.

"Hey Bastard, wake up." He spoke in a monotone as he removed his hand from the other's head.

The reaction was almost immediate as Hichigo jumped in his seat at the rude awakening. Ichigo tried to suppress the pleasure he felt when he saw the shock and confusion written on his brother's face.

Hichigo's face contorted into narrowed eyes and a wide smile.

"What the _hell _was that for?" he asked in a breathy kind of voice, as venom seemed to creep in behind his words.

Not backing down from his younger brother, Ichigo replied, "You slept too long, Stupid, we're here." He pointed in the direction of the Kurosaki Clinic.

Hichigo wasn't deterred, however, sending one last insanely large smile back at Ichigo before crawling out of his own side of the car. Ichigo frowned as he glared at the back of the other boy, before crawling out of the old cab himself. The driver watched silently as the identical boys left his vehicle and followed the small cement path to the door of the home. Shrugging, he sped off into the night.


	3. Chapter 3

I consider this chapter fairly boring, sorry about that. I hope the fact that I consider chapter four great will appease you while reading this. XD Thanks for the reviews and helpful tips though guys, it's appreciated!

"Oh Princesses! Daddy is home and he's brought your brothers!" Isshin screamed as he opened the door of the Kurosaki Clinic.

The door opened into the brightly lit kitchen area of the house. Isshin glanced back and forth for a moment, wondering just where his youngest children could be. Peaking out from behind the kitchen door, Yuzu smiled brightly. Quickly she ran into the kitchen and threw herself toward Isshin.

"Daddy! You're late!" She admonished slightly as she wrapped herself around the man's torso. The time was exactly 10:02 pm, and Isshin had told the two girls that he would return near 8:00 pm or 9:00 pm.

"Yes, but I'm home now! Feel Daddy's love, Yuzu!" He said while grabbing Yuzu and cuddling her small body in his arms.

Ichigo stood behind the happy pair, watching as Isshin mauled Yuzu and kissed her face gratuitously. Rolling his eyes he pushed at his father's back.

"Move outta the way, geeze." A rather sardonic voice came from behind the man and the little girl. Looking over her father's shoulder Yuzu saw Ichigo trapped outside behind their father. Leaning forward a bit more she could make out the figure behind Ichigo, Hichigo?

"Ichi-nii! And is this my new brother, Hichigo-niisan!?" Yuzu squealed as she squirmed out of Isshin's tight grip, forcing her way back to the tiled floor. Quickly she ran past her father toward Ichigo and Hichigo, leaving the older man to wonder just what had happened.

"It's very nice to meet you Hichigo-niisan! My name is Yuzu and I hope we'll get along really well!" Yuzu shouted happily as she held out her hand to shake Hichigo's. He stared down at her hand for a moment, almost as if wondering what she wanted him to do. After a few seconds, however, he returned the greeting limply and shook her fingers.

"Yeah, uh, nice to...see you too," He responded in a rather tired voice.

At about that moment Karin entered the room, "About time you guys got home; Yuzu was worried sick over you." She snapped toward the men, a rather annoyed expression planted on her face.

"Karin!" Isshin shouted loudly as he attempted to hug the little black-haired girl–now a master of evasive maneuvers to her father's 'love'. Stepping swiftly to the side, dodging her father's attack, Karin crossed her arms and looked skeptically at the two orange-haired boys in front of her, as if not quite sure what to make of them. She had never known Hichigo, at least not from what she could remember. It was odd seeing someone look so similar to Ichigo, and it was especially odd to see someone with the same hair-color.

_Hmm, they'd be almost identical if not for the length of their hair... In that old picture Yuzu had I couldn't even tell them apart_, Karin thought as she processed the sight before her. Ichigo had one hand stuffed in the pocket of his too-tight jeans and the other hanging by his side, he seemed to be annoyed with the situation entirely. While Hichigo had his arms crossed tightly across his chest and was looking downward, as if he didn't feel comfortable.

"I'm Karin," she decided to try, "Ichi- nii told me that we met at least once before, but it was a while ago." Karin spoke calmly as she leaned back against the kitchen wall near the door to the living room. Her large blue eyes pointed directly at Hichigo. He looked up, nodded in agreement, and looked back down.

Karin frowned a bit as she watched him. He definitely wasn't comfortable, but there was something else too. There was something that she just couldn't see but knew it was there. Pulling her baseball cap down a bit over her eyes she sighed loudly. She didn't like it, and her father and Yuzu seemed to be just a bit too happy with the new arrangements.

"Hey, Yuzu, I think 'Ghost Bust' might be back on now...I'll finish watching it with you if you really want."

"'Ghost Bust'!?" Isshin yelled excitedly from his place near Karin.

Yuzu stepped away from him, removing herself from the creepy atmosphere that Karin felt around Hichigo. It wasn't natural, and she was immediately relieved when Yuzu had moved.

"Huh, okay!" Yuzu yelped happily in surprise. Her sister never wanted to watch 'Ghost Bust' with her!

"Oh, but..." Yuzu stopped, looking back at the three men in her kitchen, "...what about dinner?" She asked, after all, they probably hadn't eaten in a long time and a home-cooked meal was better than any fast food.

Karin grimaced a bit as she watched Yuzu fret, "They'll be fine, we already ate and they can just warm up the leftovers for themselves."

Yuzu hesitated, but reluctantly agreed. There was a really good episode on tonight! After a moment, Yuzu followed her sister back into the dark living room to finish watching her favorite television show.

"Wait, I want to watch it!" Isshin yelled, running after his two daughters. Just before running into the other room however, he caught himself. The older man turned around with a happy, yet more serious expression upon his face.

"Hichigo, would you like to watch it with us? Ichigo doesn't like it, but you might!" He smiled, trying to encourage his other son to come and watch the 'family' television show that he and Yuzu adored so much.

Hichigo looked at the man with a small frown, "Ah–no, I don't like it either."

Isshin shrugged one of his shoulders and waved back to his two son before running to meet his daughters on the sofa.

Ichigo looked over at Hichigo for a moment, narrowing his eyes. The guy couldn't be trusted. At all. Shaking his head a bit he decided to fish out some of Yuzu's leftovers for himself.

Walking over to the refrigerator he opened the door and stuck his head in, trying to decide where the leftovers could be. Spotting them, he pulled out the large bowl and placed it on the counter. Removing the saran-wrap from the top he noticed that it was only miso stew. He removed a bowl and chopsticks from their respective cupboards and filled it with the stew, making a slight face at the prospect of reheating the dish.

Looking up from his work he noticed that Hichigo seemed to be watching him intently with a sour expression on his face. Ichigo glared back, hoping that the other would stop looking at him–it didn't work.

"What?" Ichigo asked plainly as he popped his stew into the microwave for a minute.

Hichigo's glare only seemed to gain strength from the acknowledgment.

"Nothing."

Ichigo turned away from Hichigo, deciding it would probably be better if he just watched his soup go in circles through the microwave door. _What is his problem, anyway_, Ichigo asked himself angrily. Looking over his shoulder, Hichigo was still looking at him.

Ichigo narrowed his eyes, turning back around.

"What is it? Did you want some?" He asked, pointing to the stew on the counter. He really couldn't deal with someone acting like that for _no good reason_.

Hichigo, if possible, glared harder. He removed his arms from their place across his chest and put them down at his sides in closed fists.

"No." He answered, looking back at Ichigo, almost challenging him. Although, he couldn't quite place what he was challenging him to.

Having had enough of Hichigo's behavior, Ichigo sat down his chopsticks and leaned over the counter to face him.

"Then _what _is your problem?" Ichigo growled, looking directly into the eyes of his brother.

Huffing at the words, Hichigo hunched forward a bit more toward Ichigo, meeting the challenge in his eyes.

"My problem? You're my problem, _Ichigo,_" He dared, waiting for Ichigo to retort, to say _something_.

Ichigo glowered across the counter-top at his twin brother.

"Don't say my name like that Bastard, we're not close." He countered. It was odd that Hichigo would use his first name, perhaps if the two were on good terms it wouldn't have mattered to Ichigo that he had been addressed by his first name alone, but Hichigo was practically a stranger to him and they had never been close in the first place.

The crooked smile spread a bit wider over Hichigo's face as he watched the unease pass over Ichigo's features. There was a certain satisfaction taken in making his brother angry or uncomfortable. There always had been, though in the past it seemed he didn't even have to frown. Shaking his head slightly, smile still firmly in place, Hichigo continued on with the conversation.

"Fine, fine, whatever," Hichigo waved off,"anyway, I'm not hungry. I am curious though as to where I'll be sleeping...?" He asked, cocking one of his eyebrows slightly.

"Dad has a bed set up for you in my room; room's upstairs, won't be too hard to find." After giving the terrible directions, Ichigo turned away from Hichigo, silently ending the conversation.

Snorting softly, Hichigo took that as his cue to leave the room. Wandering out of the kitchen and into the dark living area of the house he found the rest of his so-called family on the sofa. Isshin and Yuzu leaned forward in excitement as they watched the rather eccentric-looking actor laugh at something. Karin was curled up in one of the cushions near Yuzu with a scowl set firmly upon her face, but she was still there, watching it for the sake of her family.

For all the faults in the picture, they all seemed happy. Hichigo glowered at the sight before him. It seemed all too normal, all too close. How easy it seemed for them to be able to forget the world around them and submerge themselves in the program. It was so easy for them to coexist with one another in a happy peaceful way. The way that they lived...without him. For so long they simply forget that _he _existed. They held tightly to each other when it seemed so easy for them to simply let Hichigo go.

Giving the happy (at least semi-so in Karin's case) trio a last look, Hichigo looked forward and spotted the stairway. Padding his way across the hardwood floor Hichigo made his way to the stairs.

Feeling along the wall for a moment, Hichigo found what he had been looking for: a light switch. He blinked as the brightness of the lightbulbs hit him, opening his eyes, he took in the sight before him. Atop the stairs the orange-haired boy was met with a small hallway with two doors on either side.

_Bastard, one of these has to be his room_, Hichigo thought as his face contorted in a frown. Turning to the first door on the left side of the hallway, he decided to open each door until he hit one that resembled what he thought a teenage boys room should look like.

Opening the door, he realized that he was definitely not in a boys room. On one side of the light-colored room were two beds and two night stands. On one of the beds sat a small group of stuffed animals and on the other were a few small hats and a hairbrush. Closing the door he made his way further down.

The next room that he hit happened to be quite lucky. The room directly next to what he assumed to be Karin and Yuzu's bedroom happened to be what he assumed was Ichigo's bedroom. Flicking the light switch near the door he noticed that it was rather small in size–definitely a great deal smaller than the girls' room. Two beds fit well against one wall, but only one night stand fit between them. It was a neat room however, and would at the very least serve it's purpose well.

Walking further into the room the orange-haired boy noticed a closet on one wall. Walking toward it he noticed the hard floor underneath his feet, evidently no one cared to carpet the place. Opening the closet Hichigo was slightly surprised. It was big, almost big enough for a small person to comfortably sleep in if they so desired. Upon the floor of the closet was a large pile of blankets and changes of bedding; even an extra pillow for whatever reason.

The clothes hanging in the closet, Hichigo decided, were very nice. There were a large variety of jackets, t-shirts, and jeans. Not much else, but various accessories were hung on the back wall of the closet behind the clothes. Vacantly he wondered if he would go shopping and buy his own clothes, or if he would simply be forced to share Ichigo's clothes. Evidently Isshin hadn't made any preparations for him beyond that of a bed.

Snorting, Hichigo closed the closet and perused the rest of the bedroom. He noted that there was only one dresser with six drawers. Peeking into them the saw that only two were filled, and assumed that he was allowed at least three of the dresser-drawers.

Turning his attention back to the bed, he examined it. There was a blue comforter adorning the top and one pillow with a white case over it. Upon closer inspection, he found a picture next to the pillow. With a small glare he picked it up and glanced over it. His breath hitched slightly as he recognized the faces.

The picture itself must have been taken long before the two girls' were ever born. There was his mother smiling with all her beauty, arms wrapped around his shoulders, Ichigo was standing next to him with Isshin's arm around his shoulder. A family picture. Feeling his pulse rise a bit he sat down, pulling his knees up as he looked at the picture closer. It was old, that was certain, and looked dirty and stained. It was still easily recognizable, however.

"Mom..." He whispered as he looked at it. How long had it been since he'd actually seen her face? He had been unable to attend her funeral because the doctors had decided that he was too hysterical to leave his room, let alone the hospital altogether.

After that Ichigo had only visited him twice more that year, and stopped coming. He remembered Karin and Yuzu being very young and only visiting him a couple of times after that as well, and Isshin had never brought them again either. When his mother was alive though she made it a point to stay with him as long as she could at the hospital. She played games with him and brought him homemade food and chocolate, even though she wasn't supposed to.

Sighing as the memories resurfaced, Hichigo leaned over the side of his new bed, placing the picture just underneath of it. Returning to his former, sitting position, he bounced carefully. The mattress was springy and didn't creek. Of course, his bed at the Institute didn't creek either, but the mattress was thin and uncomfortable, and the black straps that were occasionally used on him kept him discomforted. Occasionally he wondered if when he woke up he'd be strapped down. It happened once, actually, apparently he was having night terrors.

Shaking his head, Hichigo allowed himself to lay down on the bed. It seemed so much larger than anything he'd ever slept in before, even though it was just a simple twin mattress. The pillow was soft and comfortable too, he noted. It was a nice room, however, he couldn't get over the gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach that things would be bad.

He couldn't get over that living with Ichigo would be a bad thing, that having Isshin around would be bad. They probably didn't really want him there anyway. After all, could a loving parent that wanted him leave him in a lonely, painful place such as the Fujikawa Institute? He'd thought about this question a thousand times, and the answer he always came up with was no, he was not loved. The answer didn't bother him nearly as much as it had when he was younger, though. No, it almost didn't bother him at all.

When Ichigo went to bed that night he found Hichigo curled into a small ball upon his bed. At first he wasn't certain if the boy was sleeping or if he was just lying there. The light hadn't been shut off and he hadn't bothered to change his clothes from earlier, so Ichigo wasn't certain. Coming closer, however, he found that Hichigo was indeed sleeping.

Looking over the face for a moment, Ichigo frowned, Hichigo looked so different. Instead of the ever-present scowl, that all too often found its way to Ichigo's face as well, there was a placid look. His eyes were closed softly and his mouth was slightly open, taking shallow breaths every few seconds. He didn't seem quite as easy to call demon as before.

Taking a sharp breath, Ichigo turned away. Just because he didn't look like a demon didn't mean that he wasn't one. And looks were all too often deceiving, he reminded himself. Walking back over to the light switch near the bedroom door, Ichigo flipped it off, and walked back over to his own bed. Trying to get a good night's sleep.


End file.
